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Guyana is poised to become a regional transportation hub and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said the Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD) will be expanded.

Edghill, speaking ahead of Caribbean Airlines’ inaugural direct flight between Suriname and Guyana on Sunday, highlighted that the current administration is positioning Guyana as a transportation hub.

Consequently, Edghill said that key linkages must be expanded and improved, be it bridges, ports, or airports. The Ogle airport is one space targeted for expansion.

“One of the things we have to do is create more space,” the Public Works Minister said, adding that plans have already been submitted for the airport’s expansion.

Ogle Airport to be expanded

Considerations for this airport include more seats in the waiting area, more duty-free options, and an executive lounge.

“Eventually, we will have to see a longer runway so we can see take-offs of bigger (aircraft),” Edghill noted.

The Ogle airport is the hub for travel across Guyana. There are also flights to regional destinations like Barbados, Suriname, and Trinidad.

Edghill opined that transporting cargo, such as fresh produce, could also be a sound opportunity for expansion at the airport.

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The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is gearing up for a busy period for its youth national teams, with the U17 Boys and Girls teams set to compete in international tournaments.

The U17 teams will face off against their Surinamese counterparts in a series of friendlies in November, building on a successful bilateral agreement established last year.

This series will provide valuable international experience for the young players.

In early 2025, both the U17 Boys and Girls teams will participate in CONCACAF qualifiers, with the goal of advancing to the FIFA U17 World Cup.

The U20 Women’s team will also compete in the CONCACAF U20 Women’s Qualifiers and Championships.

in a release to the media, the GFF indicated that they have implemented a rigorous training schedule for all three teams to prepare for these crucial competitions.

The technical staff is focusing on developing the players’ technical skills, tactical awareness, and physical fitness.

The federation  further added that this “is also committed to expanding its player pool by scouting talent from across the country, including the hinterland regions.

This inclusive approach will ensure that Guyana has a strong pool of players to draw from for future generations.”

According to the GFF, the investment in youth development is a testament to its commitment to building a strong foundation for the future of Guyanese football.

The post Guyana’s Youth Football teams prepare for International competitions appeared first on News Room Guyana.

Barbados Pride registered their third win on the trot in the CG United Super50 Cup as they downed Guyana Harpy Eagles by one wicket in a nail-biting contest at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday.

Demetrius Richards’ patient unbeaten 65 off 121 balls, including five fours and one six, steered Barbados Pride past their target at 204-9 after they won the toss and bowled out Harpy Eagles for 203 inside 48 overs.

With the win, Barbados Pride moved to the summit of the standings on 22 points, one point ahead of Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (21 points), while Harpy Eagles sit fourth on 12 points.

Asked to take first strike, the Harpy Eagles, who lost their first encounter and had their second contest end in a no-result, would have been intent on opening their account but were let down by a sub-standard batting performance.

They lost in-form Matthew Nandu (14) with the score at 19-1, but Tagenarine Chanderpaul (34) and captain Tevin Imlach (35) gradually got the innings back on track with a 49-run second wicket stand.

Chanderpaul had three boundaries and a six in his 59-ball knock before he fell to Nyeem Young, while Imlach followed shortly after, as he became the first of Javed Leacock’s three scalps.

Leacock also accounted for Kemol Savory (seven) and Kevin Sinclair (zero) with the Harpy Eagles at 117-5.

However, a 46-run stand between topscorer Kevlon Anderson (52) and Keemo Paul (25) breathed new life into the innings, but when they fell, it signalled a writing on the wall for the Harpy Eagles.

Anderson, who used 72 balls for his 52, had two boundaries in the knock, while Paul had two sixes and a four in his 15-ball cameo.

Ashmead Need (19) offered little at the backend.

Leacock (3-43) was the pick of the Pride bowlers, with Dominic Drakes (2-38), Nyeem Young (2-29), and Jomel Warrican (2-27) offering support.

The Pride’s response started shakily, as they lost Kadeem Alleyne (four), Leniko Boucher (29), Zachary McCaskie (18), and Kevin Wickham (zero), with a mere 58 runs on the board. Three of those four wickets fell to slow left-arm orthodox bowler Nedd, with the other going to Veerasammy Permaul.

Captain Kyle Mayers (22) and Dominic Drakes (13) offered very little resistance as the Pride slipped to 115-6 before a 55-run stand between Richards and Nyeem Young (30) brought them within touching distance of victory.

Even after losing Young, Richards pushed on to ensure they got across the line.

Nedd ended with 3-43.

Harpy Eagles are back in action on Tuesday when they face Leeward Islands Hurricanes in a day/night match at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.

Imperious Justin Greaves

SUMMARY: Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 291-6 from 50 overs (Amir Jangoo 96, David Mohammed 79, Tion Webster 60; Oshane Thomas 2-54, Rahkeem Cornwall 1-38) v Leeward Islands Hurricanes 292-3 from 47.3 overs (Justin Greaves 151*, Mikyle Louis 57, Chesney Hughes 33, Jahmar Hamilton 25*; Khary Pierre 1-50, Yannic Cariah 1-56)

Justin Greaves (PHOTO: CWI Media)

Barbadian Justin Greaves became the first West Indian batsman to score three consecutive List A hundreds.

Playing for Leeward Islands Hurricanes, opener Greaves has been in ripping form in the CG United Super50 Cup, with scores of151* vs Trinidad and Tobago Red Force; 112 vs Barbados Pride and 111* vs West Indies Academy.

His 151 sealed an emphatic win for the Hurricanes on Sunday evening. (Modified from SportsMax) 

 

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Guyanese Briton John won bronze in the gruelling Men’s Elite Road Race at the Caribbean Elite/Under-23 Cycling Championship in Guyana on Sunday.

Competing in the 94-mile race on the Heroes Highway, John became just the fourth Guyanese to ever make the podium at the Senior Caribbean Championship.

He finished behind Cory Williams of Belize (gold) and Jesus Cespedes (silver) of the Dominican Republic in a hotly contested sprint finish.

Cory Williams of Belize celebrates his gold medal performance upon crossing the line. Briton John is at right (Photo: News Room/Avenash Ramzan/November 3, 2024)

The last Guyanese to medal at the Championship was Tony Simon, who copped bronze in the Road Race in Barbados in 2009.

Prior to that, Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams won Guyana’s only gold at the prestigious event in the Road Race in St. Lucia in 2004, while three years earlier in Aruba, Dwayne Gibbs took bronze in the Individual Time Trial.

After the medal-winning performance, John spoke to News Room’s Sport Editor Avenash Ramzan (WATCH BELOW)

Guyanese Denise Jeffrey defies the odds

Denise Jeffrey rides past cheering family members and supporters on the Heroes Highway (Photo: News Room/Avenash Ramzan/November 3, 2024)

‘When I put on this uniform, I get goosebumps’

Meanwhile, Guyanese Denise Jeffrey may not have made the podium in the Women’s Elite Road Race of the Senior Caribbean Cycling Championship on Sunday, but she certainly won hearts on the Heroes Highway in Guyana.

Old enough to be the mother of her competitors, the majority of whom were Under-23 Elite riders, Jeffrey, 57, displayed great mental fortitude, braving the searing midday and early afternoon heat to complete the gruelling four-lap race, which covered approximately 42 miles.

Jeffrey, a former national squash player, fell behind the peloton early in the race, but that was no deterrent for this tough Guyanese woman, who, with very little preparation, kept pedaling like her life depended on it.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to prepare as I should, but I did the best that I could and the main thing was to finish the race,” Jeffrey told News Room Sport.

“Words cannot explain. There is something about when I put on this uniform, it gives me goosebumps. The pride that I feel is amazing.”

Click here to view full Road Race results 

Below are the summarised results

The Individual Time Trial was held on Saturday (November 2) on the Heroes Highway, signalling the start of the Senior Championship.

READ MORE: White, Morales, Paul and Quezada are Caribbean Time Trial champs

The post Guyanese Briton John cops bronze in Caribbean Men’s Elite Road Race appeared first on News Room Guyana.

‘When I put on this uniform, I get goosebumps’

Guyanese Denise Jeffrey may not have made the podium in the Women’s Elite Road Race of the Senior Caribbean Cycling Championship on Sunday, but she certainly won hearts on the Heroes Highway in Guyana.

Old enough to be the mother of her competitors, the majority of whom were Under-23 Elite riders, Jeffrey, 57, displayed great mental fortitude, braving the searing midday and early afternoon heat to complete the gruelling four-lap race, which covered approximately 42 miles.

Guyanese Denise Jeffrey at the start line (Photo: News Room/Avenash Ramzan/November 3, 2024)

Jeffrey, a former national squash player, fell behind the peloton early in the race, but that was no deterrent for this tough Guyanese woman, who, with very little preparation, kept pedalling like her life depended on it.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to prepare as I should, but I did the best that I could and the main thing was to finish the race,” Jeffrey told News Room Sport.

“Words cannot explain. There is something about when I put on this uniform, it gives me goosebumps. The pride that I feel is amazing.”

With her son Kristian on a motorcycle behind her throughout, Denise pushed her boundaries and got the admiration of every single spectator who gathered on the sidelines.

Denise Jeffrey rides past cheering family members and supporters on the Heroes Highway (Photo: News Room/Avenash Ramzan/November 3, 2024)

Her family- including husband Kevin, daughters Kimberly and Kayla, brother Dwayne Shuffler, and sisters Kathy and Alana- and close friends keep cheering Denise, whose ultimate aim was to finish the race and keep the Golden Arrowhead flying high.

That she did, making her mark on debut at the Caribbean championship!

After the remarkable effort, Jeffrey spoke to News Room’s Sport Editor Avenash Ramzan (WATCH BELOW)

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Max Verstappen climbed up from 17th on the grid to win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, one of his greatest victories taking him to the brink of a fourth world title.

Rival Lando Norris of McLaren had a difficult race, finishing sixth after a couple of key errors, to fall 62 points adrift off Verstappen with 86 still available in the final three races.

Verstappen will become world champion if he leaves the next race at Las Vegas on 23 November with a lead of at least 60 points.

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly took the final two podium places to transform Alpine’s season and move the team up from ninth in the constructors’ championship to sixth.

A chaotic, incident-strewn, wet race that involved a red flag, two safety car periods and a series of crashes and incidents will be remembered for a victory that was not only Verstappen’s 62nd, but one of the greatest wet-weather victories of all time.

Just as remarkably, it was his first win since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, and it owed everything to a driver at the top of his game, and a team making the right strategic decision at the right time. (BBC)

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Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) on Sunday started its new direct flight between the Ogle Airport, Guyana and Paramaribo, Suriname.

Passengers can benefit from the direct flight twice weekly, that is, on Sundays and Fridays.

“Caribbean Airlines has deep roots in Guyana… Guyana is one of our most important markets,” the company’s Country Manager for Guyana and Suriname, Renatha Marshall said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday.

According to her, the company believes it is important to expand and respond to market needs. As such, the new direct service was introduced.

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond, CAL’s Country Manager for Guyana & Suriname Renatha Marshall and other officials and stakeholders at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new direct flight (Photo: News Room/ November 3, 2024)

It was previously noted that the new route will be served by CAL’s ATR 72-600 aircraft, offering convenient travel options for passengers between the two South American nations.

On Sundays, Flight BW 383 will fly from Ogle, Guyana to Suriname. It departs at 09:55 hrs, and arrives at 12:05 hrs. Then Flight BW 384 will fly from Suriname to Ogle; it departs at 12:50 hrs (Suriname Time), arrives at 13:00 hrs.

On Fridays, Flight BW 383 will fly from Ogle, Guyana to Suriname, departing at 10:45 hrs, arriving at 12:55 hrs. Flight BW 384 will fly from Suriname to Ogle, Guyana, departing at 13:50 hrs (Suriname time), and arriving at 14:00 hrs.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill on Sunday noted that there is already a direct flight, along the same route, offered by Trans Guyana. However, the CAL aircraft is bigger and offers flyers more options for travel.

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond, CAL’s Country Manager for Guyana & Suriname Renatha Marshall and other officials and stakeholders at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new direct flight (Photo: News Room/ November 3, 2024)

According to him, Guyana and Suriname are collaborating on many projects so both economies can benefit from increased attention. He believes the introduction of this service helps facilitate seamless travel and business between the neighbouring countries.

Similarly, Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond spoke of the greater attention being placed on Guyana’s tourism sector. And she opined that private investments in the sector reflect that growing attention.

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McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in a chaotic, crash-strewn qualifying session in which Max Verstappen was 12th.

The Red Bull driver has a five-place grid penalty for the grand prix later on Sunday so will start 17th, although he may vault up if some of the damaged cars cannot start the race.

Mercedes driver George Russell snatched second place alongside Norris, with the RB of Yuki Tsunoda third, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and RB’s Liam Lawson.

The session was punctuated by five red flags for heavy crashes involving, in order, Williams’ Franco Colapinto, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, both Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, and Williams’ Alex Albon.

Verstappen was left fuming about the delay in throwing the red flag for Stroll’s crash in the second session, which he believed had allowed other drivers to knock him out of the top 10 because the session was not resumed.

And Norris himself came close to being knocked out in the first session – he was in the drop zone before jumping up to 15th, the final car to progress, with his final lap.

That time, though, knocked out Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who qualified 16th.

Norris said: “There was a lot going on. I was struggling a lot at the start of the session, I worked on it a lot in the session. A little surprised to be on pole but a good result for us.”

Verstappen complained that the delay had allowed other drivers to demote him out of the top 10.

“I find it unbelievable,” Verstappen said. “The car goes into the wall, broken. It’s clearly destroyed, but they wait 30-40 seconds and the others can complete their lap times and of course the ones behind cannot.

“The car hits the wall, it needs to be a straight red, I don’t understand why it needs to take 30, 40 seconds for the red flag to come out. It’s so stupid to talk about. It’s ridiculous.”

In fact, a review of the session suggests it did not make a difference to Verstappen.

He was lying 10th when Stroll crashed, after a poor single lap following a restart after the red-flag period for Sainz’s accident earlier in the session.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crossed the line to bump Verstappen down to 11th just two seconds later – well within the normal margin for a yellow flag to become a red after a heavy crash.

Leclerc ended up qualifying sixth, with Albon – who had been second before his crash – dropping down to seventh, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Alonso and Stroll.

It remains to be seen whether Aston Martin and Williams, who have two damaged cars, can repair both in time for the race, and if they cannot which driver will be chosen. (BBC) 

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